By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
Work will begin soon on cleaning up 75 acres of chat piles between Webb City and Carterville.
That’s what Mark Doolan, project manager with the Environmental Protection Agency, told members of the Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties during a meeting Tuesday in Joplin.
Doolan told the task force that a request for bids has gone out on the Internet, and that work should begin sometime this fall.
The task force also received an update from Doolan on water-quality testing in Spring River.
Water samples are being tested for heavy metals, Doolan said, and the results should be available in the next few weeks.
Once that is completed, tests for toxicity will begin. The tests will measure chemical compounds such as phosphates, pesticides, nitrates and other substances.
Craig Jones, assistant director of the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council, addressed the task force about the Lower Shoal Creek Watershed Partnership. Jones presented a draft of a strategic plan for restoring and protecting water quality.
“This is essentially a road map of actions needed to start impacting water quality,” Jones said. “It will cover land and water stewardship for the Shoal Creek basin.”
A Department of Natural Resources grant of $30,000 was awarded to the Truman Council in February to accelerate community-based watershed management for lower Shoal Creek.
A similar group, led by Tony Moehr of the Jasper County Health Department, is under development for Spring River, according to Jones.
Once the work is completed, the combined forces of all the groups will provide information on how people can protect the area’s water quality.
“This planning process isn’t about placing restrictions on people,” Jones said. “It’s people coming together to figure out some common-sense, voluntary actions.”
Action taken
The Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties took one official action during its meeting Tuesday: It agreed to set up a checking account. The account is to be used for donations to and expenses of the Lower Shoal Creek Watershed Partnership.
“This will give the group operational funds,” said Bob Nichols, president of the task force.
The partnership is a subcommittee of the task force. The checking account will remain in the control of the task force until the partnership is ready to break out on its own.
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